nhl one-shots | multi

honey | m. tkachuk

Summary: she reminded him of honey, the smoothest thing in the world. Her eyes were warm, her smile sweet and with her in his vicinity he felt at ease. But she was always out of reach.

Matthew was a man of specific taste. He liked rum, but he couldn't stand tequila. He enjoyed the smell of trees, but not pine. He enjoyed walking on the beach- but never if it was humid.

To make it short, he was picky.

If there was one thing in the world that Matthew loved more than anything It was honey. Soft, golden, warm to the touch- and sticky. A rather peculiar fixation that he had, but he enjoyed it nonetheless. Whenever he was on the road, he always made sure to stick a bottle of honey in his bag.

Even though his salary would allow him to buy thousands of expensive brands- he always went for the classic Bear shaped bottle that costed him no more than 3.99 at the local grocery mart. While some might look at his behaviour and call it madness, Matthew thought nothing of the sort. His actions had a meaning.

That meaning went by the name Y/N.

When Y/N and Matthew first met, Matthew was quite the hot head. He was known as Calgary's troublemaker both on and off the ice. He was rich and arrogant and while albeit attractive, his mouth had been the reason for his reputation.

Y/N was working as a barista at Coffeeology, a fancy uptown cafe that resided in Matthew's apartment complex. It was apart of his daily routine to pick up a latte before morning practice- or a black coffee before a game. He was always quiet with the staff, but never rude. He knew that they didn't get paid enough to deal with half of the bullshit they were put through so he didn't want to add onto that.

And in all honesty, Matthew was a good guy. While his reputation in the NHL made him out to be an asshat at the best of times, he really put an effort in daily to make sure his real life persona met higher expectations.

It was a normal Sunday morning for Matthew when he strolled into coffeeology. The aesthetic black and white labeled sign above the door gleaming a neon hue. He pushed the door open and took in the familiar landscape. Crystal white subway tiled walls and dark wooden floors greeted him- the smell of freshly baked danishes and dark roast coffee lifting his spirits.

While the weather outside was rather glum, the atmosphere of the usually quaint coffee shop was booming.

Music echoed from the speakers that Matthew was unaware even existed before that day. Members of staff were bussing tables and weaving around customers.

Why on earth was it so busy?

Through the sea of familiar faces, there was one that stood out to Matthew like a sore thumb. Hair piled high upon her head, a figure bounced around the cafe- taking orders, handing out coffees and pastries all before her eyes set upon him.

"Hi I'm Y/N- What can I get started for you?" Her smile was infection, the bubbly personality she seemed to radiate had taken ahold of Matthew- causing him to smile back at her before he could even process the flame in his cheeks.

"Hi..." he drawled, suddenly feeling like the world was moving slower. It was like the world revolved around this woman in front of her- the light reflected off her skin, picking up what he thought was sparkles- perhaps she was wearing makeup?

Her lashed fluttered in time with his ever quickening heart as if she was keeping the rhythm on purpose. Her pink dusted lips had him captivated- following every graceful slip of a syllable as she spoke.

"Uhm what would you suggest." Matthew found himself straying from his routine in an effort to keep the conversation rolling. He didn't care that there was a line forming behind him, or that other people were waiting to place orders.